Conflicting Ideals
by Suvulaandrun
Summary: A disruption of worlds allows four individuals to cross into new lands. The Dragonborn, Archmage of Winterhold, Harbinger of the Companions, and a Nightingale have to adjust to their new surroundings in a land filled with those ready to kill them for the belief of another god.
1. Arrival

A thunderous roar echoes throughout the academy, alerting everyone of it's presence. The sky tore open revealing a blinding light that would be witnessed for miles, and within it's center emerged a dragon with decayed skin. As the light appeared in an instant out of nowhere it suddenly ceased to be, leaving behind the dragon. It soared the sky circling the academy simply watching, with it's decaying skin, and wings torn apart, the only way to describe the beast was ancient.

Not much time had passed before the beast decided to charge towards the academy with unmatched speed. It's goal, was the golem that had just appeared from the ground. Diving towards the golem the dragon spoke,

" **Gaan-Lah-Haas** "

A blast of magic was sent hurtling towards the golem and enveloped it in a life-sucking aura, which caused it to stumble to the ground. Entire chunks fell back to the ground from which it was created. Slowly sinking back to the earth, the dragon arched back to the sky only to begin circling around the golem. Trying to get back up the golem begins to crumble, instead it leans on the academy wall in order to push itself up. At this point it had lost an entire arm, along with part of it's abdomen, in other words it was in terrible shape. But nevertheless it began to sprint towards the walls that protected the academy and attempted to escape, though it was a fruitless endeavor when the dragon blocked it's path. Swiftly landing on the wall the dragon grabbed on with it's talons which left large indents. Facing against each other a dead silence passed as the two stood silently.

With no other choice left the golem's caster revealed herself and began to cast a spell. The fury she had towards the beast was evident even from afar. She despised it for ruining her plans, she wanted it to teach the beast the error of it's mistake, to die, to suffer. Never moving the dragon simply waited, it was evident that it knew what was going to happen, yet it stayed. Nearing the end of her spell the caster knew for a fact that she would end victorious, with this she gave a smug smirk. Suddenly four figures appeared on either side of the dragon, they each stood confidently against the caster. The first was the Dragonborn, hero of Skyrim and slay of Alduin, he wore Ahzidal's Armor and wielded ancient sword once wielded by the Blades. To his right stood the Archmage, of the College of Winterhold, wearing the dragon-priest mask Zahkriisos, she wielded the Staff of Magnus to help control her own power. On the other side of them stood the Harbinger of the Companions, shielded by ebony, he raised a Nordic Greatsword with ease. Alongside him stood a Nightingale, cloaked in shadow with a arrow already notched in his bow he aimed for the caster. With an arrow notched onto a bow crafted by a god, the figure released his grip and let the arrow pierce the air to find it's target. The arrow itself appeared to absorb all the surrounding light, leaving an aura of darkness. Shock took over the caster, she hadn't realized what exactly had happened, that is until a surge of pain erupted from her shoulder. A cry of agony left her mouth as she fell to her knees, not knowing what to do she let herself fall to the ground. As she fell she managed to cast one final spell before hitting the ground, the earth itself slowed her decent and swallowed her whole. She escaped, knowing full well that this was a battle that could no longer be won. But with her presence gone the situation didn't change at all, the golem stayed and begun to charge at the dragon and figure. While most of the golem had been destroyed it was still a force to be reckoned with. Pulling back it's remaining arm it intended to crush the dragon with brute force. Yet still the dragon stood it's ground and patiently waited, never fearing what could happen. Before the golem could finish it's swim the Archmage raised the Staff of Magnus and used it's power to push back the golem and stop it mid-swing, as the power of the staff was released most of the golem's magical properties were absorbed. Finally the Dragonborn stepped up and with but a whisper he Shouted,

" **Fus-Ro-Dah** "

A surge of energy was released forming a shockwave that vibrated the air and everything that it passed. Once reaching the golem, it froze, resonating throughout the entirety of it's body. The dirt that once held together slowly fell back to the earth that had sustained it. Within seconds the whole of the golem had dispersed throughout the air, leaving a vail of dust that shrouded the approaching students.

"Well this'll be interesting nonetheless," commented the Nightingale.

Before the dust could settle the Nightingale began to scale down the side of the wall. By grabbing onto the cracks that had formed due to its age, he managed to reach the bottom in order to inspect the golem's remains. The earth itself wasn't anything unique, and any traces of magic had all but disappeared. Whatever it was certainly didn't originate from a plane in oblivion, including Mundus. Wherever it is that the group has landed is certainly far away from home. Without warning the Nightingale is surrounded by students of Tristain's Academy of Magic. They stood a safe distance away, it wasn't until one of them spoke out that the silence was broken,

"In the name of the princess," raising a rose, he continued on arrogantly, "stop right there."

Not being able to hold in his laughter the Nightingale burst out in laughter. The sheer confusion among the students was priceless, many others had begun to pull out their respective wands. As his laughter begins to die down he unsheathes his blade, passed down from Karliah to aid him in his venture to the Twilight Sepulcher. He raises the blade towards the blonde that told me to stand down and retorted,

"Now I wonder, why does that sound so familiar."

All of the students begin to laugh hysterically, "He's just another commoner!"

"Looks like he tried to break into the academy, what an idiot!"

"Does that peasant actually think he can fight us?"

It was interesting to see their reactions to say the least, the Nightingale couldn't help but grin a bit behind his armor. The sheer amount of ignorance the students presented was amusing, but in the end very pathetic. Most of the students had raised their wands against me, the sheer numbers would prove troublesome but they reeked of inexperience. The arrogant blond that tried to detain the Nightingale the first time spoke out,

"You interrupt the familiar exhibition with the princess attending and yet you refuse to pay for your crimes."

"Listen boy , you're out of your league, it's best if you just let me be on my way."

"A commoner threatening a noble? You clearly have a death wish, now prepare yourself!"

With his declaration finished the Nightingale rushed the blonde before he could react. Everything slowed down, no one spoke, or moved, the edge of the blade found the first layers of skin on the boy's neck.

"Guiche!" Screamed out several of the female students.

The look of horror that dawned on the boy was a pathetic sight,

"I've had enough of you wasting my time." With a cold sneer, "Now get out of my way."

Sheathing his blade he began to walk away, only footsteps could be heard in the dead of silence. Everyone backed off as soon as he approached them.

"W-wait!" Yelled a short pinked haired girl with a flustered look, "What happened to the golem?"

Stopping his stride the Nightingale stood there, the other students were confused and muttering to themselves, none of them had even noticed what had occurred. He took a moment to consider his answer, it was very odd though, most had at least one such experience since the return of the dragons.

"Halt!"

Turning around he found several guards approaching, no doubt intending to apprehend him. Each carried a standard sword, their armor was of a fine steel though the style was foreign. In return the Nightingale raised his blade towards them, ready to engage in whatever was necessary. They suddenly came to a stop as a girl dressed in a royal manner approached him. Whether it was confidence or arrogance that she portrayed was unclear, however it did garner the Nightingale's respect to not do anything rash. She stopped just before reaching his blade and spoke,

"May I ask who you are?"

"I see no reason to introduce myself to someone like you."

One of the guards broke rank and tried to threaten him, "You will show respect to princess Henrietta, heir to the Tristain throne!"

"Tristain?

"Tristain, the kingdom which we are currently residing in," replied the princess. "Do you not know where you are?"

"It appears not."

"I ask you again, who are you?"

Giving it a moment to let this new information sink in before responding, he slowly sheared his blade. This certainly wasn't a plane of Oblivion, and the terrain was too different from anything in Tamriel, or Nirn for that case. The air was much richer, the flow of magic constantly crashing against me, the sun always burning away its rays of light. But it just wasn't the same.

"I'm simply a Nightingale."

"Preposterous!" Yelled out one of the rudeness, "Such a self proclaimed title is absurd, only nobles can bare titles!"

" Letting out a sigh the Nightingale continued on with his conversation with the princess,

"It appears that this land's customs are much more restricted."

"So you're not from these lands then?"

"From what I can see I'm very far from my homeland, then again that's not very new."

"Then how did you get here?

"That'll have to wait until you meet the others."

"Others?"

"I didn't come alone."

On cue, three figures appeared from where the golem was disposed of. Valenwe Adthar, Archmage of Winterhold, her mastery over magic was unparalleled, while preferring to talk her way out of situations she can let loose a stream of blinding lightning leaving a path of destruction. Ulrik, Harbinger of the Companions, covered in ebony armor he is a hulking berserker that can't be stopped. Ending with the Torban, the Dragonborn, protect by Ahzidal's old armor.

"It would be best if we continued this in private."

A room was prepared for the group of four who had found themselves within the academy walls. Princess Henrietta was accompanied by two of her trusted officials, Agnes, of the Musketeer Corps and Viscount Wardes, of the Griffin Knights. The three sat across the strangers of this land. It was clear that whatever was going to happen was going to be long, tedious, and crucial to the fate of the country. Both groups were hesitant on even beginning to talk to one another, though it was made painfully clear that there were questions that needed to be answered. The sun still shone brilliantly through the window which illuminated the room and would reveal any underhanded tricks either party thought of planning.

"Now that we're alone," the princess turns around to face the four, " who are you?"

Leaning forward the Dragonborn introduces himself first, "I am the leader of the Blades and slayer of the World-Eater, Alduin."

With a low gruntled voice the warrior went next, "Ulrik, Harbinger of the Companions."

"Arelos," whispered the Nightingale.

Ending off with the robed woman, "I am Valenwe Adthar," she begins to take off the dragon-priest's mask Zahkriisos, only to reveal the complexion of an elf, "Archmage of Winterhold, so where exactly are we?

Princess Henrietta couldn't keep track of everything that was being said. She and her guards were stunned at the sight of the elf.

"Y-you're an elf?" At this statement Agnes raised her pistol and aimed towards the high elf alongside Wardes who raised his rapier in response.

This in turn caused Ulrik to stand and unsheathe his greatsword. Everything stopped, the two good confidently but were indeed wary of the situation at hand. While Ulrik stood ready for an attack, the rest simply sat there annoyed.

"Stand down," ordered Henrietta.

"Well isn't this interesting," spoke Torban," met is still hated by man no matter where we go. If you seek any answers then I ask that we speak Ina a civilized manner."

Slowly and hesitantly the two lowered their weapons. The room had turned eerily quiet with tensions still high.

"I suggest we start from the beginning, this might take a while. Now, what is this place?"

"This is the Tristain Academy of Magic," answered Henrietta.

"That isn't what I meant. This clearly isn't Tamriel, and I highly doubt this is a plane of Oblivion."

"Tamriel? And what's Oblivion?"

Looks of worry spread across both Agnes and Wardes. It was clear that their guests were a completely unknown factor, however their importance in the grand scheme of things was still in question.

"It's more than confirmed that this isn't our home world." Turning to Arelos, "tell me, what's become of your connection to Nocturnal?"

The Nightingale takes a moment to focus before answering, "The Night Mistress' power appears to be weaker but the contract still stands."

"Hold on," ordered Agnes. "Answer the princess' question first."

"My apologies. Tamriel is the continent from which we all originate from, with Cyrodiil at the seat of power."

"And what about this Nocturnal?"

"The Night Mistress is one of the 17 deadric princess that inhabit Oblivion."

"So they're your rulers?"

Bursting out in laughter Torban continues, "Far from it, they may have some connections in Nirn but not enough to rule. Man will always rule over man, you could see both the aedra and daedra as our gods."

Wardes then speaks out, "You're gods? What you speak of is heresy, the only god is the Founder Brimir!"

"What you forget is that he is not our god," continued Torban, "we all choose who to worship. Such actions are what brought the downfall of the Thalmor.

The day had passed on to give way to the night and as the final stars began to shine their brilliant lights. Not much had been accomplished in terms of figuring out what the next course of action should be. Everyone had ended off on bad terms and everything would be continued for the next day, the simple mention of other gods was unforgivable. The night passed by quietly with Arelos standing guard on the roof, enveloped in shadows he surveys the academy grounds. Everything fell right into place, the moon was concealed by a dreaded mist that kept all in secrecy.


	2. Bargaining

By dawn the sun had revealed its radiant light that covered the academy. The fog from last night still remained and left everything tinted in a grey hue. Everyone would still be soon be waking up to continue from yesterday, and that would mean continuing the pointless discussion with the powers of this land. Arelos was tired of politics though he knew that it was necessary considering the situation they had all landed in. If a resolution couldn't be agreed upon then they could be hunted down and imprisoned if they weren't killed before that. The other question that gnawed at him was how strong these Tristain's were? This was indeed a strange land however its customs were idiotic. Nobles always tend to be stuck up and believed themselves to be above all others, however the morality of those here is quite lacking. Letting out a sigh,

"Hopefully Valenwe can figure out how to get us back before too long."

With that Arelos found his way back to the room which he and the others were assigned, though he wasn't surprised to see that the others had already woken up. Each was going about their own things, both Torban and Ulrik were steadily sharpening their respective weapon, while Valenwe was simply channeling her magic. The three hadn't noticed Arelos entering until he reached the middle of the room and sat down.

"So how did it go?" Torban asked.

"Absolutely nothing. I would guess most in the academy are passive towards our presence."

"Still doesn't hurt to be careful." Standing up Torban makes his way to the door, "Time for another round of debates eh?"

"I don't suppose you've figured anything out Valenwe?"

"The powers that brought us here definitely weren't from our world. I'll have to learn the mechanics of the magics of this land, maybe then an answer will appear." Letting her focus break, she begins to follow Torban, "Don't worry though, if something brought us here then there is definitely something that should take us back."

Ulrik solemnly warned the group, "Maybe it would be best if the door between our worlds never opened again," still focused on sharpening his blade, "this land is not ready for ours."

"It matters not, this is not our home. We must at least try to make it back."

Not surprisingly enough as Torban, Valenwe, and Arelos made their way to the room from before to discuss the affairs of yesterday, there were already guards keeping an eye on them. The walk was dreadful as distrust filled the halls, it was painfully obvious that they were ordered to make sure no one stepped out of line. Several students would be approached and their conversations would be condensed to hushed tones that peaked on the edge of silence. But still the group continued on confidently, not letting the mocking tones of those they passed affect them. As they approached the end of the hall they saw the princess accompanied by her guard Agnes.

"Well I suggest we begin."

As they begin, all of their weapons are left at the entrance to "safeguard" the princess. Surprisingly enough today's discussion begun off with a rather strange topic.

"So tell me, what is it that you all are wearing?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Its simply unique, no one has seen anything like it before."

"If that's the case then I wear the ancient armor of my ancestors, this style of craft hasn't been reproduced in ages. Only the Companions nowadays may wear such armor. As for Ulrik he wears a rare style consisting purely of ebony, the way it's crafted has been lost for a very long time. 

"In my case I wear the robes passed down from the last Archmage, such a mysterious man, though it was obvious he kept much hidden from the rest of us." Pondering on the thought a bit longer Valenwe continues, "As for my mask it once belonged to the dragon-priest Zahkriisos, the mask itself is imbued with an ancient magic gifted by the dragons.

"You mentioned the dragons yesterday, how they had suddenly reappeared but you didn't mention how."

Torban continued the discussion, "That is a matter all in its own, and the beginning of my story as well. The world-eater Alduin had escaped the stream of time which he was banished to and with his return marked the return of the dragons.

"Why was Alduin banished in the first place?"

"The Dragon Wars, a rebellion of man against their dragon overlords. Alduin misused his power and claimed it to be his birthright to rule the world simply by being the first of Akatosh's creations."

"Is Akatosh another of your daedra?"

"Quite the opposite actually. Akatosh, the dragon-god of time, the chief deity of the nine divines."

Stepping up Viscount Wardes interjects, "Yet another god to add to your pantheon. Such allegations will have you end up at the headsman's axe, what proof do you have of their existence?"

The very thought of someone questioning Torban's beliefs was unthinkable, he was reminded of the days when the Empire had raised arms against the Stormcloaks. His anger began to raise as he looked back at the events, not letting things get out of hand Valenwe continues in his place,

"The divines protect us from the horrors of Oblivion, such an instance was proven true during the Oblivion Crisis, when the deadric prince of destruction Mehrunes Dagon invaded Tamriel. At that instant many were reminded of the dangers from which we are spared from." Pulling a book from her satchel she lays it down on the table for the others to view, "There are many dangers in our world, whether or not you choose to believe is your decision."

A Black Book belonging to Hermaeus Mora, deadric prince of Knowledge. Bound in leather to keep it forever shut, its very presence gave out a seductive aura but the danger was all the more evident. Silence overtook the room as the Tristain's gazed upon its cover, looks of worry and curiosity were evident.

"What… What is that?"

"The very thing you asked for. All you have to do is read it, however the chances of you returning with a sane mind are nonexistent."

With an alarmed tone, "What kind of abomination have you brought here?"

"The very things that threaten our way of life. If you are too arrogant to acknowledge our beliefs and would persecute us simply for not aligning ourselves to yours then you will have made a grave mistake."

The book disgusted Agnes, unlike many before her she didn't care for the knowledge it would gift her. However she couldn't stand by and let someone insult Tristain, especially in front of the crown. "You dare threaten Tristain? Do you understand the situation you're in right now? You can't possibly believe to oppose the entirety of the country."

"I completely understand the situation, all we want is to head home." Retrieving the Black Book from the table Valenwe puts it away, " If that can't be accomplished simply because your people will find us a threat then I hardly believe we will be left alone."

"If you already see this kingdom as the enemy then you have no right here." Reaching for her firearm she is surprised to find it missing, "W-What?" Looking around bewildered she confirms that it's no longer on her person.

"I assume this is what you're missing?" Valenwe motions to Arelos who is shown inspecting the firearm.

"Such an interesting weapon," Arelos sets the firearm down, "Considering there is no blade it's safe to assume that it fires a projectile."

"Impossible! There's no way you could've stolen that from me!"

"Thus an example of the difference between our strength. How do you think I managed to snag it off you? The better question would be when."

"Enough!" yelled the princess. "What is it that your group hopes to achieve?"

Valenwe resumes, "We've already stated our intentions, we wish to go home and all we ask for is insurance that we won't have to fear having our throats slit in the middle of the night. If this can't be provided then we cannot abide by the powers that govern this land."

Taking a minute to think over the situation the princess tries to think of a solution that would benefit everyone the most. She couldn't afford to cost her country more enemies, if anything it would greatly benefit her if they would ally themselves with her. All the group wanted was to go home that was self evident on their looks, a foreign land meant nothing to them. They were unknowns, there was no telling of their capabilities and if her hunch was correct they would prove to be a great asset.

"I can allow for your group to stay and I will ensure that you will be given protection. As long as you stay within our borders, then you are free to do as you please as long as you abide by our laws." Taking a pause, "However I ask that you all refrain from openly discussing about your gods."

Torban smirks upon hearing this, "I may not be a religious person myself, but I will not stand for such a dishonorable act to pass. You will not stop me from refraining about speaking of the divines, a war didn't stop me the first time."

"If this is what you decide upon then I cannot guarantee that others will be openly accepting."

"Such things matter not. The divines have not abandoned me and so I will not forsake them."

"Very well but for now I ask that you stay within the academy until further notice."

Clearly bothered by this new arrangement Wardes brings up another crux, "There is also the question of your loyalty. How can we be sure that you won't simply betray us the first chance you get?"

"It would be best if you don't question the honor of Nords."

With that the rest of the day was spent finalizing a treaty which would allow the four to remain in Tristain under their protection. For now they would be forced to remain in the academy until certain preparations are set for them to travel. They will abide by the laws of Tristain and should the country fall under siege be forced to protect her and the people. While they would not be considered as nobles they will be treated as a foreign power and be treated as their guests. These compromises are to be fully met until a way back to Skyrim can be found.

"If there is nothing else to be said I believe that today's discussion has ended." Valenwe looks outside the window only to notice the night taking dominion over the sky, she notices the twin moons and is painfully reminded of the fact that they are not the same ones from Tamriel, "We will await a message from you telling us of the progress."

"It will certainly take time but I'm sure it can be done." With a relieved expression Henrietta is thankful for a peaceful resolution, "I thank you all for your cooperation."

After leaving the room Henrietta sneaks off in search of her beloved friend to ask her of a favor. Both Agnes and Wardes leave afterwards to prepare for the journey back, leaving Torban, Valenwe, and Arelos.

"They may not be the Thalmor but their views don't seem to differ much," began Torban. "What do you make of it Arelos?"

"Something was very off with one of them. I just don't trust them in general."

"There isn't much we can do about that. But what's done is done, let's just plan our next moves carefully."

"I'll leave that up to you two, I'm going to have a look outside." With that Arelos exited the nearest window and left while still being several stories up.

"We should inform Ulrik about what's happened."

"It can wait until tomorrow, for now we should rest."

Once again the night held its soothing grip over everyone, the academy was silent once again. That changed once a woman slowly emerged from the ground, ready to finish what she had set out to do. Calmly making her way to the side of a tower she pulls out her wand ready to cast a spell. Unfortunately for her she wasn't alone, from the moment she had revealed herself she had caught the eye of a Nightingale. Arelos followed her as she made her way around the academy, her smell proved her to be the caster from yesterday who they had stopped. As her spell neared completion, earth began to rise around her only to begin forming together. Knowing that this would lead to another disaster, Arelos decided that it was time to step out of the shadows.

Foquet was gathering her strength to quickly get what she came for so that she wouldn't be stopped like last time. She was absolutely confident that nothing would go wrong, that she could get away. While distracted by her own pride she failed to realize the sound of wings. Not having enough time to locate the source she is enveloped by multiple bats, enough that as they flew past her she wouldn't be able to see past them. Before being able to react the bats grouped together to form a familiar figure, Arelos stood before her barely leaving only a a few hair widths space between them. Foquet was stunned with shock, nothing could have prepared her for this encounter. Arelos grabs onto her shoulders, not letting her get away. Without warning she realizes that she's been bitten, she couldn't react, she didn't know what happened. Her body was burning, the smallest touch would render her helpless. It was obvious once Arelos removed his fangs from her neck that the process had begun.

"Rest. The pain will be gone soon."

With that Foquet faints from the pain, Arelos holds on to her to stop her from hitting the ground. He takes her to the side of the wall and lays with her while the transformation takes place. Her body will take time to be accustomed with the raw power coursing through her veins. Taking off his cape, Arelos uses it to cover Foquet to ease the process.

"From one thief to another I hope we can work together."

 **Author's Notes: For those who are interested in this story I want you to know that this is to serve more of a skeleton. If I actually manage to finish it then I will most likely rewrite it with much greater detail. As with anything criticism is always welcomed and thank you for taking the time to read my little story.**


	3. Preparation

The twin moons had risen over the horizon signaling the beginning of the night and the hunt. Ulrik had tired of negotiations with the Tristain's, they simply chose to be complacent out of fear. It was reasonable for them to be questionable of their sudden appearance, and chances were high that they would have a part to play in this country's fate. However that would have to wait for another day, it's time to see what preys this world has to offer. After managing to clear the academy walls it was a direct path to the forest. It wasn't long before he crossed a pack of wolves, each showing signs of battle. They remained passive as he approached and begun to follow him. The beast blood flowing through his veins constantly burned, it gave great strength, and made wolves consider him as one of their own. It would take hours until something caught Ulrik's interest, a single caravan with several waiting outside. Clearly they were resting for the night but there was one that stood out. Covered in formal robes it was obvious that he was another noble of this land. Staying hidden in the forest Ulrik listened in on the noble from afar.

"I have told you a million times that this is unacceptable! How is it that I am still stuck in this forest, isn't the road cleared yet?!"

"I-I'm very sorry my lord, but there's still too much debris. It will take about another hour before-"

The noble Count Mott struck his servant with enough force to incapacitate him. Frustrated he storms off towards another one of his servants who he violently grabs by the arm.

"Come with me girl! If I am to spend my precious time waiting in this wretched forest then it better be best spent with some enjoyment."

The girl struggled against the Count, letting herself fall to the floor to slow down his progress on her. She knew what he planned to do with her, his reputation was known by many of the commoners. Screaming she refused to go with him, hoping that something would stop him.

"You shall do as I say girl or else I will see that your family suffers!"

"No! You can't, they don't deserve that!"

"Then you know what-"

A frightening howl broke through the night, and from the shadows crept a beast blessed by Hircine in its hunt. The beast topped over the heights of a regular man, covered in a thick black fur coat most weapons would have trouble piercing it's thick hide, its elongated claws sharp enough to tip through flesh with ease, and its teeth strong enough to tear apart metal. Behind it appeared a pack of wolves ready to attack, the caravan was struck with fear.

"G-Guards attack that monstrosity!"

Five guards took up arms as they began to counter their sudden foe, unfortunately for them it was clear they were outnumbered. As the first guard charged in he was surprised to find that his gut had been pierced, coughing out blood he fell limply against the beast. Grabbing the base of the guard's skull the beast rips it clear off the body with the spine following right behind, the rest of the pack began their attack. Standing their ground the guards stood together and charged at the closest wolf of the pack. As the wolves pounced at their prey they would immediately be stabbed by a steel blade, but as their body's fell they would restrict the guards movement which would allow the rest of the pack to attack. The overwhelming numbers would prove to be too much but still they fought on.

Realizing that it wouldn't be long before the beast tore through the rest of the guards the noble panicked and began to flee. Screams could be heard as he ran through the thick forest not caring where he'd end up. Exhausted he held reached a clearing and held himself up with the side of a tree, it was far enough that the screams of death could no longer be heard. A moment of silence passed allowing him to catch his breathe and determine the situation.

From a distance the pack of wolves could be heard, it would only be a matter of time before they arrived. Not having the strength to keep running he prepared for the oncoming attack. Shadows could be seen passing around the edge of the clearing, this prompted the noble to make his way to the middle with his wand in hand.

As the first wolf appeared from the forest it lunged at the noble, it wouldn't be long before it was doused in flames that were emitted from his wand. As this occurred two other wolves appeared from the cover of the night and latched themselves onto his legs. Not being able to withstand the pain he fell to the ground which allowed others of the pack to enter and begin to tear apart the noble. Not being able to fight back he simply laid there screaming while the pack tore through his flesh and ripped apart his belongings. By the time they stopped mauling over his body he could no longer move, rapidly bleeding he knew his life was at an end.

As the noble drew his last staggered breaths he could hear something approaching behind him. There wasn't anything he could hope to do so he simply waited as his fear began to grow. Suddenly something grabbed what remained of his right shoulder and rotated him so that he could bare witness his death. The beast that had attacked his guards was staring at him with fangs exposed. Standing right above him the beast howled one last time with an unbound ferocity. The beast took its claws and pierced the noble's chest allowing it to crush his heart. With that he let out one more agonizing scream as the life began to drain from his eyes, and with that the noble Count Mott died.

The transformation which held Ulrik in his beast form began to lose strength and slowly he reverted back. As the process began it caused unimaginable pain, the fur began to shed his bones began to crack and break to take their original form. Because of Hircine's blessing, Ulrik maintained his armor as it began to return from the Hunting Grounds. After every transformation he would be left exhausted as his skin burned, but he knew that it would be unwise to remain in the forest. The wolves which had followed him had attacked the guards that tried to protect their master and immediately went after the noble himself, leaving behind the rest. Heading back to the caravan, Ulrik went to see who remained and to see who he could aid. It was clear from the beginning that the noble had been getting away with heinous acts before and that no one would be able or willing to put a stop to it. Yet another example of the incompetence of the rulers of this land.

Upon arriving at the road which he found the caravan, there was a small group huddled around the remains of the attack. Walking up to them Ulrik notices the shake in fear as he approached.

"I'm not here to hurt you. Follow me, I can lead your group to safety." With that Ulrik continued his path back to the academy with what remained of the caravan following slowly behind.

As they ventured through the forest no one spoke, all that could be heard were the footsteps of the group as they crushed the ground beneath them. The air was frigid and cold, every exhale would be proof enough as a condensed vapor would be released. It wouldn't be long before returning to the academy and putting the rest of the night behind them. However one of the former servants walked up to Ulrik and began to speak to him.

"What were you doing back there?"

"Just taking a walk through the forest until I caught sight of your group."

"You surely must have encountered the pack of wolves that attacked us. Though considering you found us they must've left you alone."

"Aye, I saw them. The wolves of this land must prove troublesome for your people."

"What about the beast! It was with the pack, they were following it!"

"It was simply hunting its prey."

"I've never seen anything like it, such a thing couldn't exist."

"There is a reason for everything, no matter how it may seem to us it has a purpose in the greater scheme of things."

With that the rest of the journey went by quickly as the academy opened the gates upon his arrival. As Ulrik parted from the former servants he headed towards the room which he had resided in. Nobody questioned his absence especially the guards that were manning the gate, they simply looked off into the distance pretending not to notice him.

The rooms which he and the others had been assigned were secluded from the rest of the dorms. Everything was dimmed as the candles which provided the light had begun to extinguish. Opening the door he found both Torban and Valenwe resting at their respective sides of the room.

"I don't suppose you're planning on leaving to go on your hunt every night?" Valenwe heads towards a chair to relax.

"Such decisions will not be up to me."

With a heavy sigh, "The beast blood definitely has its burdens. I trust you realize that no one can know about your lycanthropy, not yet at least."

"So what is that has to be done for tomorrow?"

"Simply to stay here, there are other arrangements which have to be finished before anything else can happen."

"It won't end that easily, they will challenge us one way or the other."

"That's a given, the aedra and daedra are what their Brimr is to us, simply another name."

"What do you suggest we do when the time comes?"

"We can't focus on that now, for now our goal is to prevent that from happening."

"I guess that's all we can do for now. If things get out of our control then we all stay together like always."

"Always."

Another night passed along quietly with no disturbances. The next morning was indistinguishable from the previous night, the sky was covered in grey storm clouds. Thunder could be heard in the distance as the three rose from their slumber to continue on with the day. Today would be a chance to find out more about these Tristains and their way of life, one way or another it would get interesting.

Sniffing the air Ulrik smelled an odd but powerful smell, "Where was Arelos last night?"

"I assumed he was keeping watch just like last night." Sitting on the edge of the bed Torban prepared his belongings for the day.

"There's something off."

"What do you mean?"

"Follow me."

Storming out the room Ulrik quickly found his way to the top of the academy with Torban and Valenwe quickly behind him. Making it top floor the three quickly looked around what appeared to be a storage room filled with dust. In the farthest corner was Arelos leaned up against the wall with an incapacitated woman who appeared to be in a great deal of pain. There was no mistaking the scent Ulrik had caught was that of another vampire.

With a rugged calm voice, "I didn't think it would you take you long to find me."

"Who is this Arelos?" Valenwe demanded.

"This is the one who attacked the academy the other day." Taking a long pause to gesture towards the woman, "She is also now my thrall."

"You shouldn't have taken one of their citizens even if they were a criminal as your thrall. They will hunt us all down if they knew what you were."

"They would have suspected of me eventually if I didn't feed, sooner or later it would be apparent."

Torban steps up to share his opinion, "There's nothing that can be done now. Arelos did right by picking someone that won't be immediately noticed. Who knows he might have just saved this woman's life, if she truly was a criminal there's no telling what the nobles of this land would do if they caught her."

"It might be best not to hide the fact of what you are." Torban sides along with Arelos, "When news of our arrival spreads there will be many ready to kill us simply for the two of you being elves. Let us not hide as cowards from a crown that might eventually betray us."

"It will only result in disaster." Valenwe retorted.

"I may be shunned by the people of this land but I would rather die than live under those who would treat me as dirt."

"Our presence here is not a coincidence." Ulrik added in, "The very fact that we are here means that we are to accomplish something, if we are to act let it be on our terms."

"We didn't back down when the Thalmor invaded Skyrim in full force and we shouldn't now especially when the battle is yet to begin. What say you Valenwe?"

"I'd prefer if we can resolve this issue with no casualties though… I am willing to stand beside you three once more."

As the agreement had been struck the woman known as Longueville awoke with a panicked scream as a sudden spike of pain surged through her. Not knowing what happened the night before she quickly scrambled farther into the corner. As she took in her surroundings her vision became blurred as the smallest fraction of light caused her great pain. Everything that she heard was amplified, there wasn't anything in the room that she couldn't hear. But the most noticeable feature were her eyes, they had turned from an olive green to a bright orange filled with a hunger. Not being able to breathe properly she manages to see the other four in the room stares at them with fear.

With a shaken voice, "What h-have you done to me?"

 **Author's Notes: I'm sure that most of you have noticed that I have not explained how the Dragonborn, Archmage of Winterhold, Harbinger of the Companions, and a Nightingale are even allies at all. I'm thinking of whether I should weave the backstory onto here or simply make a standalone story explaining how such events have occurred. But either ways let me know what you guys think and thank you again for taking the time to read my story.**


	4. Alter

The once infamous thief laid scared and confused on the floor. Her mind was racing as she took in her surroundings and noticed the four strangers scattered around. Without a wand there were few options left. Making as much distance between herself and the others in the room she tried to buy time. Breathing heavily she couldn't ignore the insufferable pain that coursed her body, something was terribly wrong. It was colder than it had ever been, than what it could ever be. It felt as though a shell of her former self was the one in control.

Both Torban and Ulrik had left to go about their day leaving behind the developing vampire. It was decided that Valenwe would assist Arelos in aiding his thrall adapt to the change. Unlike before something had occurred during the process that prevented the complete transformation. All who fell victim to the power of a vampire lord would lose their sense of free will, this was not the case. Fouquet had kept control of her thoughts and actions, there wasn't anything holding her down, fortunately she was unaware of the power now in her possession.

"You're the ones from before! What do you want with me?!"

"Calm down." Valenwe extended her arm out to pause her, "There isn't anything you need to worry about right now."

"Do you think I'm an idiot? I saw what you and your group did. So which is it? Did those stuck-up nobles finally pay enough to find someone to capture me or are you after my bounty?"

"It would be best to leave the explaining to him." Gesturing to Arelos who was crouched down next to her.

Pulling down his mask, Arelos revealed his sharpened fangs leaving the rest of his face obscured. "This is a sign of an ancient disease, one that can be passed down to another. It is a sign of a vampire."

"Such things don't exist, they are only mentioned of to frighten children!"

"You won't be able to deny it for long, the hunger will settle in soon enough."

"What nonsense are you talking about."

"Valenwe? If you will."

Upon the request Valenwe pulled out a dagger which was latched onto the side of her leg. Fouquet stiffed up at the sight of the blade, it was finely sharpened with the depiction of an eagle running down the pommel and handle. Pulling up her sleeve in order to reveal bare skin. Taking the knife she ran the blade alone the inside of her arm which created an incision, slowly a steady stream of blood would begin to drip to the floor.

This immediately caught the attention of the thief who perked up at the sight, she could not look away from the blood that fell to the ground. It wouldn't be long before the temptation gave in and forced her to take action. Instincts were kicking in as they blurred any thought that passed and clouded her judgment.

"You can feel it can't you? It will take a while for your transformation to complete but in the meantime your abilities will grow the further you progress." Arelos places his hand on her shoulder which snaps her back to the present. "A thief must always have an upper hand in the situation."

Fouquet couldn't understand what was happening, she couldn't keep control of herself as her eyes kept wondering towards the dripping blood. The smell of it was very rich as it permeated a sweet scent. Without realizing it her wand had been placed in front of her by Arelos who had stood up to stand next to Valenwe. Quickly grabbing her wand Fouquet ran to the closest window to make an escape, it wouldn't be long before the pain seized her body to stop. Without wasting a second she turned back around to her captors and began to cast a spell which began to turn the surrounding walls to sand.

Seeing this, Valenwe flicks her wrist towards the fallen noble, which releases a small surge of lightning that envelopes her before being able to finish the spell. The strike was powerful enough to knock out Fouquet, leaving her unconscious on the wooden floor.

"You'll have to find a way to keep her under control. Either find a way to finish the transformation or contain her power."

"Easier said than done. Maybe it's that the people of this land are affected differently by our magics than us."

"Either way, this isn't something we can ignore."

It wasn't clear how much time had passed since Fouquet was knocked out. Her surroundings had completely changed as she woke to find herself inside of a cave. A small fire was built giving off very little light, it would soon extinguish itself. There was no sign of a way to exit as there were several passages leading somewhere else. Not knowing what to do she searched for her wand, hoping that it would have been left behind. Not long after she spotted it near the fire and quickly grabbed it to her relief. She raises her arm with wand in hand and begins to cat a spell to gt out of this miserable cave.

"You don't plan on leaving so soon, do you?"

Fouquet calmly looks around for the source of the voice only to find the so-called vampire leaning against one of the passages in the cave. "As a matter of fact, I do. Not that it should matter to freaks like you."

Arelos gives off a small laugh, "That wouldn't be the first time I've been called on, and I doubt it will be the last. Do you even have any idea what's happening to you?"

"I've been drugged, that's the simple truth. Except it's not enough to stop me which is your mistake."

"You've been given a gift, yet you refuse to accept it. You won't be allowed to leave, not until you recognize the raw power now flowing through your veins."

"Who's going to stop me? You? The only reason I was stopped last time was because I was caught off guard, that won't be happening this time."

With that Fouquet finished her spell, which made the entirety of the cave to collapse on itself. Entire chunks of rock fell creating a divide between the fallen noble and Nightingale. A wall of stone separated the two, and as Fouquet relished in her victory a surge of pain coursed through her body causing her to falter. Having to lean back against a wall she gasped for air, and as soon as it came it left. Not knowing what caused it she began to make her way out of the cave system, it was surprisingly easy as the light from outside spread surprisingly far into the cave. As she reached the exit a deep, loud, angered roar was emitted from the back of the cave. Not looking back Fouquet continued her way out of the cave and back to the academy.

It was close to dusk as she entered the clearing which marked the borders of the academy. Her goal in sight with only one thing standing in her way, another one of the outsiders. Her face was covered by a mask while the rest of her was garbed in traditional robes, she bore a staff on her back.

"I'll have to ask you to stop right there."

"You can't stop me, now get out of my way before I destroy you." Fouquet begins to walk past her.

Releasing a surge of lightning from the palm of her hand, Valenwe marked a line that prevented Fouquet from passing. "This is your last chance. You will not cross this line."

"Is that a challenge?" With that Fouquet began to chant a spell, one that would bring forth her golem. Her casting was elegant as the final words left her lips, though as the construct rose from beneath the earth a sharp pain flared in the back of her head. Choosing to ignore the spike of pain she was elevated into the air by the golem as it grew beneath her.

At its peak the golem reach several stories high clearly rivaling the academy itself. With Fouquet perched on it's shoulder she would be able to rival any that tried to pursue her. "Prepare to join your friend!" With that declaration clusters of boulders jutted out of the earth surrounding Valenwe leaving her no escape. The golem soon brought it's gigantic fist over it's head intending to crush Valenwe where she stood in one fell swoop.

Sparks of electricity could be seen surrounding flashing around her as she took a defensive stance. A surge of power began to build up as more and more electricity began to swarm her being. Bringing together her opened palms she concentrated on focusing magic to form an unstable force of destruction. A technique only few in Tamriel had come to learn much less master. As the golem began to bring down it's fist, Valenwe released all the built up energy in the form of lightning, a single strike wouldn't be enough to stop such a thing which was why a storm was required.

As the stream of lightning struck the arm of the golem would soon disintegrate completely leaving nothing behind. Not wasting anytime Fouquet quickly followed up with another strike with the remaining arm. The arm would be dealt the same way but it would not be destroyed since Fouquet focused the remaining of her willpower into maintaining the structure of the arm.

Pain would continue to grow the more Fouquet used her magic, causing her to fall on her construct. Not ready to give up she kept focusing on keeping her golem in one piece. She slowly realized that not only was she keeping it together but instead it was becoming stronger slowly morphing into metal. Nothing like this had happened before, it was unheard of, though it was clear that the more pain she suffered the stronger her magic became. It was a quick decision but she was willing to handle the consequences if it meant the death of anyone willing to stop her. Adding the rest of her remaining strength into supplying the golem to make sure it got to its target.

Valenwe was surprised to say the least that something was able to withstand this attack despite its strength. Unfortunately for her opponent this wasn't her only ace, the dragon-priest mask Zahkriisos had laid dormant until now only leaving behind a fraction of its true power. By allowing its ancient magics go take effect Valenwe was able to increase the strength of her own spells which particularly affected lightning. Humming with a power granted by the dragons, Valenwe was able to use it for her own use in multiplying the strength of her continuing spell. The golem had grown stronger but cracks could be seen the longer it was pressured, with a new surge of power the cracks quickly widened. It wouldn't be long before the arm would collapse in on itself, leaving the construct defenseless. Cutting off the stream of lightning strikes, Valenwe quickly conjured a dense ball of fire which she quickly threw at the center of the golem causing it explode on impact.

The fall would have surely ended Fouquet if she hadn't reacted fast enough and cast a spell to soften her descent. Though when she landed she was completely burned out, it was difficult enough to hold herself up as she stumbled back. "I-Impossible. What are you people..?"

Before Valenwe could answer a monstrous roar came from the forest causing Fouquet to turn around to her dismay. A swarm of bats just as before quickly swarmed her causing her to fall violently to the ground. She tried to swat them away with what remaining strength she had to no avail. Before she knew it they stopped and she slowly opened her eyes only to see what she had feared. She was stunned, frozen, not able to move.

Arelos once again removed his mask to reveal his fangs. Before Fouquet could react she felt another sharp pain on her neck as Arelos bit down. Not being able to move unless wanting to have her throat ripped apart Fouquet slowly passed out as the ancient curse coursed through her veins anew.

 **Author's Notes: Completely small chapter since October kept me absolutely busy, I'll try to start updating this story more often.**


	5. Dawn

The following morning was hectic to say the least. The headmaster along with the Viscount Wardes had called for another meeting with their guests. With both Valenwe and Arelos missing, that left Torban and Ulrik to handle the two. Another conference room was set up for them, it was much larger and clearly intended for long discussions. As the two Nords entered the dead silent room, they caught sight of the headmaster and Viscount sitting patiently on the opposite side of the room. Taking their seats, the obviously long conversation begun.

"Where are the other two?" asked the Viscount, clearly annoyed.

"They had other matters to attend to," answered Torban. "They won't be joining us today."

"We specifically said that you and your friends were to remain inside the borders of the academy."

"Whatever the cause their reason must be justified."

"I will not have my authority undermined!"

Dismissing the Viscount, the headmaster continued, "We wanted to discuss with your group about your homeland."

Taking a seat Torban asked, "There isn't much else to say."

"Then let's again discuss your pantheon in greater depth."

"A sensitive subject for many back home, though we will answer the best we can."

Before the headmaster can continue, the Viscount cuts in, "So you admit that not everyone believes in the existence of your gods."

"What the people of Nirn choose to believe is up to each own. Not everyone may agree and that may lead to confrontation, if that were the case then it would be up to us to fight for our beliefs."

"And what gods do you believe in?" asked the headmaster.

"I believe in all the nine divines, however it's the ones I choose to worship that make me enemies."

"Oh? Which would they be?"

"Akatosh, the dragon-god of time; and Talos, the god of man. As I've said before not everyone look to the divines for guidance."

Torban motions to Ulrik for him to continue, "As there are the nine divines to watch over the mortal plane there are the daedric princes which resides in their planes of oblivion. I follow one of said princes, the daedric prince Hircine, Lord of the Hunt."

"And what proof do you have of their existence?" asked the headmaster.

"The daedra are proof enough."

"Enough!" yelled out the Viscount while slamming a fist on the table. "You claim to come from a land of heretics, you speak of other gods and pantheons while there is only one true God, the Founder!"

Lifting his blade against the Nords the Viscount waits for fealty. The two look at the blade with a bored glare.

"I have already fought a war to protect my beliefs. I will fight another if I must."

Upon Torban finishing his statement he raised his own sword and slashed straight through the Viscount's blade shattering it in pieces.

"W-What are you people?!"

"We specifically? Well we're those who walk alongside death."

Upon hearing this statement the Viscount brought out a hidden wand and successfully casted a torrent of flames at the two. Managing to dodge the attack the two roll to the side which leads them to rush the Viscount with blade in hand. The encounter was short, very dull, but the consequences were big. Dragonbane pierced through the Viscount's body, exiting through the back. While the Nordic Greatsword ripped through his flesh, breaking the bones and, tearing the right arm off completely. The Viscount lay alive, but barely. Taking it upon himself Torban ended his pain by piercing the back of the Viscount's skull, resulting in immediate death.

Looking back at the headmaster, Torban looked for a reaction. The headmaster soon took a defensive stance with wand at hand prepared to defend himself.

"So will it be war?"

 **Author's Notes: I'm thinking of just writing down key points in the story so far until I completely rewrite it so if you want to add some input for the final product it would be greatly appreciated. Unfortunately that means that I ll be writing much less but hopefully I won t be stuck writing down filler. Thanks for taking the time to read my story and have a great day. (3/25/17) I finally added the quotation marks.**


	6. Daybreak

An explosion could be heard throughout the academy as panicked ensued. Headmaster Osmond had began to rally the remaining professor and guards to slow down their attackers. To slow them down, it was all they could do. The students had begun to flee and ran to the dirt road to avoid any confrontation. There were a few notable exceptions that had stayed, though they too were being pushed back.

The two Nords slowly began to take control over sections of the academy. As the guards charged at the two warriors they would soon rewrite their own definition of fear. One by one they would be mowed down whether it be a blade piercing the body or simply tearing it in half. Bodies littered the ground as the blood covered the floor.

"Find Valenwe and Arelos, we need to make sure they're safe," stated Torban.

"You'll be alright on your own?" questioned Ulrik.

Letting out a slight laugh, "Just find them and hurry."

With that Ulrik began his transformation into lycanthropy and with great speed left in search for the remaining two. Leaving Torban alone, he continues on his way through the academy. The silence was disturbing, all that could be heard were the trickle of blood. There was something off, a familiar feeling albeit a bit distorted. Deciding to push it aside Torban made his way through a different part of the academy where he encountered the remaining professors with few guards accompanying them.

Walking down a wide stairway which lead to a grand, opened room with an elevated ceiling. Directly opposite of the room the professors stood, deliberately waiting for Torban to make the fist move.

"So is this where you've decided to take your final stand?" Torban asked respectively.

"This is madness! You can't possibly believe that you ll be getting away after committing such a heinous act," declared one of the professors.

"Madness? It was obvious from the beginning where this arrangement would lead. Your distaste for our belief was evident, it was your fear of everything you knew being wrong that lead to this."

"There is nowhere for you to go. You shall die a heretic's death."

Stopping at the edge of the stairwell Torban declares, "Prepare yourselves!"

" **Mul-Qah-Diiv** "

A radiating aura enveloped Torban covering him in a dragon aspect. Drawing out Dragonbane, Torban rushed at the professors, ignoring the guards. Jumping at the last second the blade came down with lethal force, crushing the skull easily. This left him wide open at the back forcing him to turn around and deal with guards. Their strikes were weak and uncoordinated, this lead to them being easily blocked. Waiting for the prime opportunity to strike Torban played along with their little game until an opening presented itself, and when it did there would be a reckoning. Then that s when it happened, a strong swipe was all that was needed to incapacitate the guards. Cutting through the steel their armor was made of and dealing significant damage was enough to keep them down. The mages would still prove to be a problem if they remained.

Without being able to give it a second thought a blast of wind knocked Torban against the wall. More magic rained down on Torban forcing him to focus entirely on dodging them. He was surrounded and without much choice on what to do, it would be alright as long as he managed to get closer. Yet again he was struck but this time by a bolt of lightning, staggering him. He looked up only to see that the mages were too far away to strike down without being hit once again.

" **Wuld-Nah-Kest** "

Like a raging tempest, Torban is shot forward in the blink of an eye towards the mages. Once stopping he stabs the one closest to his right through the chest, following up by blinding the one on his right. Yet again the onslaught of magic fell towards him until,

" **Fus-Ro-Dah** "

Any projectile was destroyed in an instant as they clashed with the wave of force that blew two of the mages away, crushing their rib cage against the wall. The remaining mages were shocked, they couldn't understand what just happened and they wouldn t get the chance to understand as Torban appeared in front of them. Speechless, they stood there gawking until a blade separated their heads from their bodies. One guard remained.

Torban approaches the remaining guard and asked, "And what of you?"

Without thinking twice the guard rushed at Torban, trying to impale him with a spear. It was futile. Easily blocking the spear away Torban plunged his blade into the gut of the remaining guard and said, "Your courage is commendable. Now rest."

" **Yol-Toor-Shul** "

The body of the guard was engulfed in a blazing flame. Nothing remained.

Once again a familiar feeling came up, and yet again it was off. This time it left an irritated feeling nagging at the back of his head. As if on cue a growl vibrated the walls of the academy followed by the flapping of wings.

 **Elsewhere**

"Sweet Mother, Sweet Mother..."

Author s Notes: I really wanted to get something else out and I don't know what happened to quotation marks in the last chapter, I'll fix it (eventually). But I m guessing that's it for now. Let me know what you think and have a great day.


	7. Evening

The dirt roads leading to the academy were clear, with no one in sight. Princess Henrietta had begun her journey to settle some unfinished affairs firstly, to see what had become of their newfound guests and secondly, to ask a favor of her dear friend Louise. The sun bore onto the hooded princess and the few of the royal guard that accompanied her. A cool breeze swept through the travelers and with it brought an odd scent, the scent of smoke. It wouldn t be much longer until the signs of fire and destruction would be seen past the horizon.

As the princess arrived at the academy she found it to be in ruins. Several of the towers had fallen completely, leaving nothing behind but rubble. The grounds were lit with fire that rapidly burned through everything in its path. Most terrifying of all though were the two dragons that were locked in combat, the ferocious roars were deafening. One of said dragons was Sylphid, a rhyme dragon; while the other was a monstrosity, its skin decaying, it was Durnehviir the undead dragon of the Soul Cairn.

Henrietta was left in shock at such a view, the academy was left in tatters with bodies of professors scattered. She attempted to take everything in, suddenly a voice knocked her back into the present as Torban emerged from the entrance leading to the main hall.

"Are you here in an attempt to stop us? To finish us off?" questioned Torban.

"What in Brimir have you done?! This is horrendous!"

"The inevitable. This was bound to happen, if not by our hands then yours."

"We gave you refuge, we trusted you! How could you betray us?"

"Trust? It is in your blindness that this was allowed to happen. You seek only the good in others and allowed your court to become corrupt. Or did you allow one to seek rebellion this entire time?"

"What are you talking about? All within my court had given themselves to Tristain, they would never do such a thing."

"Such a mindset will leave a dagger in your back. You re a fool if you can't recognize a loss."

"As an enemy of this kingdom I can't allow you to escape!"

"You can't hope to let your people prosper if its leader is weak."

"Guards, stop him!" ordered Henrietta

 **"Diil-Qoth-Zaam"** The shout shook the sky as Durnehviir let out a monstrous roar.

Upon issuing the order the remains of several corpses belonging to the professors began to bend and crack. A purple mist erupted from the ground and tore the bones from the deceased. As the bodies were destroyed the bones began to be corrupted and turn into a sickly shade of black. In its place a Wrathman formed, one of the many lost wanderers of the Soul Cairn. As they formed they knew their one objective, to kill.

Disgusted by the process of their creation, many of the guards were caught by surprise when they turned towards them and began their assault. With no weapon in sight the Wrathman charged, having no fear of death themselves. Surrounded and outnumbered the guards quickly fell to the conjured souls leaving behind the princess.

Henrietta pulled out her wand, and frightened she says, "Y-You won't get away with this I won't allow it!"

On cue an explosion occurred, blowing away another section of the wall, far away from anybody and anything.

"Princess Henrietta!" yelled out a short, pinkette, Louise Francoise. With her familiar Saito Hiraga, falling close behind.

"Louise! What are you still doing here?!" exclaimed Henrietta as she hurried herself over to Louise, leaving behind the Wrathmen.

"The academy is under attack by undead. We have to get you out of here it s not safe!"

"I'm afraid we can't. Because of him." Henrietta pointed at Torban, declaring him the enemy once and for all.

"You? But you saved the academy from the golem when you first arrived. Why would you be doing this?"

"Your people shun anything you refuse to believe, this was bound to happen. Only that it will be on our terms," stated Torban. "Your God, Brimir holds no power over us, nor do your elitists views."

"Brimir bestowed us the gift of magic to rule over others, without this power there would be anarchy. Everything would be destroyed!"

"Then perish with your twisted ideals."

 **Elsewhere**

"Send your child unto me..."

 **Author's Notes: Let me know what you guys think, not everything is still set in stone.**


	8. Dusk

At the entrance of the gates stood a frightened Henrietta, who found herself to be in a very dire situation. The sun bore down on the trio as they stood in defense, waiting for the first move to be made. Opposite to her stood a foreign warrior, one that threatened their country and their way of life. It would be a miracle if she would even be able to warn the rest of Tristain of the impending danger.

The Wrathmen began to surround Louise and Saito as they guarded the princess, more had formed during their last conversation. All remains of flesh had burned away as the bones appeared to be infused with energy as they gave off a faint light. In unison they marched towards their target, focusing first on Saito who was already armed. But before they could, a torrent of wind sucked up all of the conjured souls. Being thrown at each other in an invisible vortex the bones of the undead soldiers began to crack and bend as they violently fell apart. Then finally a blast of fire appearing out of nowhere finished of the Wrathmen as the vortex began to finally die down. The makeshift army had died.

"W-What happened?" asked a puzzled Louise.

"We did!" exclaimed the flamboyant Kirche.

From the inside of the academy two students emerged, leading in front was a red-headed Germanian followed by a short blue-headed Gallian wielding a wooden staff. The two forced their way to aid their friends in the upcoming battle.

"What are you two doing here?" asked Louise.

"We stayed behind to make sure that everyone evacuated the academy, that and these monsters are good target practice," stated Kirche with the upmost of confidence. "Go and take the princess, we ll hold off the rest."

"You can't possibly stop them by yourselves, just look around!"

"A Valliere can't expect to know my limits." Kirche turns around to face Torban. "Now go get to safety!"

"Saito stay with them and make sure that Kirche doesn't go running off, that's an order."

"Yeah, just go get to safety..." Before Saito is able to continue, the undying dragon Durnehviir lands on the side of the academy itself.

Holding himself up with his talons he exclaims in a loud demanding voice," Dovahkiin. It is time for me to return." With that Durnehviir erupted in an explosion of purple flames, corroding the remaining rotten skin, leaving behind the skeleton, and with one final roar it slowly became dust in the wind.

"Well now, this will be interesting," said Torban. "If you insist on running away go ahead, it won't stop what s to come."

"Shut up! I won't let you get away after what you've done to everyone here. It s not right!" yelled Saito.

"Prove me wrong."

The remaining Wrathmen rearranged themselves and prepared for the upcoming battle as both Louise and Henrietta began to flee from the academy. Saito, Kirche, Tabitha, and Sylphid stood in defiance against the Dragonborn. Without taking a second thought Kirche began the assault with a barrage of flames. This forced Torban to evade which only brought him against a wave of wind that of which hit him straight on knocking him back a bit.

Striking the air with his blade to reassure of his balance, Torban began to rush towards the two mages only to find Saito to stand in his way. The two clashed swords and remained grounded waiting to see who would be the first to budge.

"You lack strength boy," claimed Torban.

Unleashing a fury of strikes with ease at Saito who in turn was forced to try to block or evade the best he could but to no avail. The sound of the two blades grinding steel was deafening, blow after blow, strike after strike would leave a ringing in one's ears. Sparks flew off violently with each swing, going off randomly in any direction. All seemed lost for Saito until another wave of magic separated him from his attacker, this forced Torban to jump back in order to avoid any of the scorching flames.

With the increased distance between the two parties, Sylphid found her chance to strike which she took advantage of by taking flight. With the intention of knocking their foe even further back she charged at Torban.

 **"Joor-Zah-Frul"**

A turquoise aura shot forward and hit the rhyme dragon directly, forcing her to crash onto the ground violently. A steady stream of ancient magic pushed her down to the ground, left paralyzed as the weight of the world crushed her. The two mages and familiar were left in horror at the sight as Sylphid cried out in pain.

Taking this chance Torban once again charged at the group, specifically targeting their swordsman. Bringing the sword over his head he began a flurry of strikes each aimed to kill. Luckily for Saito the power the Gandalfr runes gave him were enough to ensure minimal damage, though damage nonetheless. Saito began to bleed from several cuts that had begin to be inflicted on him, and with the remaining energy he had attempted to attack Torban. The effects of Dragonrend lasted but a moment as it s power weakened significantly.

 **"Strun-Bah-Qo"**

The ground shook as storm clouds began to form over the academy and thunder began to sound in the distant. It began to rain heavily down on the students as they stood in shock at the sudden development. Then before anyone could react the towers of the academy began to be struck by intense, pure white lightning. Strike after strike the lightning fell leaving no time before the next one hit. The first to be struck was Saito himself. The current of electricity surged through his body, leaving him in immense pain. Not even a scream could escape before he fell unconscious due to the immense damage. Smoke rose up as whole sections of his body had been badly burned due to the extreme heat given off.

Through the thunder a deadly howl was heard, it was a creature of the daedric prince Hircine, Lord of the Hunt. A lycanthrope could be seen a ways off from the entrance of the academy, but given enough time it would reach there in no time. Beside the werewolf stood another nightmare, a creature of the night, a gift from the Lord of Domination, a vampire lord that ran up to speed with its lycan friend. But most terrifying of all were the flame atronarchs that followed closely behind whose fire was intense enough to burn through the heavy downpour.

Seeing that the tide of battle had turned drastically against their favor, Tabitha decided that the best course of action was to retreat. Without a second thought she quickly summoned a barrage of wind to keep Torban at bay, so that she can manage to retrieve Saito before it was too late.

"We must leave," said Tabitha worried.

Kirche understood what her friend meant and began to drag Saito over to Sylphid who was half conscious due to the effects of Dragonrend. Normally this would ve been a regular task if it wasn t for the continuing thunderstorm. While being mostly random the strike of lightning mostly hit the academy itself leading to most of the structure blowing off leading to the debris to become a hazard. While Tabitha continued to hold off the Dragonborn, Kirche managed to mount Saito onto Sylphid and then decided to help out Tabitha.

Torban was left with little choice but withstand the force of the wind as it began to push him back. His best choice would be to hold out until the winds died down, no matter how long it took. The force was strong enough to blow back anybody not expecting it. It felt much like the winds of a hurricane itself.

As Tabitha began to back off while continuing her assault, Kirche came in and began to provide cover fire to allow her friend to mount Sylphid in order to make their escape. Letting a torrent of flames to engulf their surroundings to make moving near impossible. Any part of the grounds that were left unharmed was quickly burned through as the flames began to spread despite the rain.

The lightning strikes continued, while missing most of their marks they covered a vast expanse of land. No light escaped the darkened sky as the clouds themselves blocked the sun and it's glorious rays. Time was running out. For every second that passed the enemy reached ever closer, it was a struggle against time itself and the threat was evident to the remaining students.

While it was still a gamble to let Sylphid attempt to fly in the storm especially after suffering the effects of Dragonrend it was still a risk that the group would have to make. Tabitha began to mount the rhyme dragon and motioned towards Kirche stating that they had to leave this instance if they were to have any chance of surviving.

Upon seeing this Kirche let out one last wave of fire spells at Torban hoping to finish him off if worst came to worst. The wall of flames that had been produced was staggering, anything that had remained was covered in blanket of fire. The Dragonborn was nowhere to be seen. Content with her work she began to make her way towards Tabitha and the others.

With the three safely mounted they began their ascent into the sky. Though before being able to gain much altitude a bright flash of blinding light curved in the sky and headed their way with extreme speed. Nothing could be done to counter whatever it was, and as soon as it appeared it was gone. Confusion began to settle, as they had no idea what it could possibly be, except for one. The flash of light had not been a light at all but instead the gleam off a sword. Dragonbane, a long forgotten sword of the Blades, had found its way through the gut of one of the students. The pain hadn t registered yet because what happened wasn t comprehensible, they had made it, they escaped, or so they thought. Another astounding feat that none in all of Halkeginia could have dreamed of. Blood began to spill as the blade itself moved slightly. Once more lightning struck the academy, and that small nudge was all it took to shake Kirche out of her shock as she raised her hands to see the blood protruding from her body. The sight of her own crimson blood caused her to faint and consequently fall off of her escape.

"No!" yelled Tabitha, expressing her fear.

Once again time stood at a standstill as everything slowed down. Tabitha had two choices; to reach out for her beloved friend and lose her grip of Saito or to leave her to her own demise at the hands of the heretics that have already caused so much death. The choice was excruciating, but time was not her ally in this decision. As much as it pained her, as much as it disgusted her to make such a choice, she couldn t risk everything.

Kirche's red hair waved violently as she plummeted into the very fires she used to protect herself. Hope still lingered, that something, someone would be able to rescue her. This hope lingered to the very last second until the flames grabbed hold of and enveloped her in its grasp. She was lost.

Tabitha had no choice at this point she would have to continue on. Making sure to grab hold of the Zero s familiar she ensured that no one else would be left behind. Sylphid quickly sped off away from the academy, just anywhere where they could be safe. The rhyme dragon flew off into the storm with extraordinary speed, any chance of catching them was impossible.

"You won t get away with this..." muttered Tabitha under her breath. As the storm raged on, the destruction of the academy was evident. The spreading flames lit up the academy within the darkness. Today marks a day of change that the people of Halkeginia won't soon forget.

 **Elsewhere**

For the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear Sweet Mother, Sweet Mother

 **Author's Notes: Comments/concerns?**


	9. Endeavor

A month had passes since the events involving the incident in Tristain's Academy of Magic. After fleeing and returning back to her castle, Henrietta attempted to amass a force capable of retaking the school with little to no avail. Eventually a small squad of scouts were gathered and sent to retrieve any relevant information they could in combating their new enemy.

When they first arrived all was quiet. The once proud structure had diminished to rubble. Several sections of the tower had fallen off completely. While the wall surrounding the entire school was more or less in one piece it was easily climbed over. Cautiously the scouts began to make their way inside.

The entrance was layered in dust that was easily picked up into the air. Further in they traveled the more light disappeared. Empty. Nobody remained. It was completely abandoned, albeit destroyed.

* * *

"How could this have happened?" asked Henrietta, standing by a windowsill that was pelted by the rain.

"Just a bunch of savages," weakly commented Louise as she blankly stared down at the floor.

"It's all my fault they died If only I had seen them for what they were."

Getting up to address her friend, "My princess, it was their fault! They took advantage of your good will and for that they will pay dearly."

"Thank you Louise, but I m afraid there's more pressing matters to attend to. With the fall of the academy, rising threat of Reconquista, and the death of prince Wales , Tristain has been left in a weakened state and I'm not entirely sure if we can come back from this fall."

Henrietta breaks into tears at the thought of everything she had lost and at the prospect of allowing her people to suffer. The longer this conflict drew out the dimmer everything became. Where things should have gone right they instead ended horribly wrong.

"Those four were lucky that they didn't have an army waiting for them," stated Louise. "It's only a matter of time before they're found."

"It's odd, don't you think? There have been sightings of them everywhere, but not together. They've separated themselves in a land that will stop them at any turn, so why would they make themselves weaker by going their own way?"

"Difference of opinion? You can't expect vermin to work together, their only looking out for themselves."

"That doesn't seem quite right."

A silence passed between the two as the rain continued to fall. Neither wanted to talk of the issue at hand but both knew that it would have to be dealt with.

"My princess what's going to happen about the wedding?"

"Because the letter was never found, it can't be used against the arrangement we have with Germania. So eventually I will be married off. Tristain will have a new ally and maybe we ll find a way out of this."

"Isn't there another way though?"

"Maybe."

* * *

Henrietta had taken off and began to wander around the castle aimlessly, without motive or purpose. With each step the guilt grew as it gnawed at her heart. Everything was falling apart at a rate too fast to repair. Perhaps what was to come was inevitable. As much as she wanted to give up she couldn't, she wouldn't allow herself, not until her people were saved. That was her obligation as a ruler.

Out of nowhere a courier sprinted towards the princess with unmatched speed. As he approached her the courier gasped for air, it was clear whatever he was told to send was of the upmost importance.

"Princess Henrietta..." Gasping for air, "It's Reconquista they've been spotted heading towards Tarbes!"

Left stunned, the princess could barely comprehend what she was told. An attack so soon seemed impossible.

"Go warn the generals, tell them to prepare the troops and have them sent off as soon as possible," demanded Henrietta as she began to march off in prepare for the upcoming battle.

"W-Wait!" Yelled the courier. "There's more... one of the foreigners that attacked the academy has been spotted as well.'

 **Capital City of Cyrodiil**

"Listener!" exclaimed the mad jester. "How swell that Mother saw it fit to send the two of us on such a task don't you think?"

Answering with silence the leader of The Dark Brotherhood began preparations for their newest contract.

"Oh come now Listener! Don't be such a sour mouth. Just imagine all the killing, sneaking, stabbing, killing..." Cicero continued to name off all of his enjoyed past-times while in a gleeful dance. "OH! That reminds me Listener," pausing in mid-dance. "Who is it that will be squirming for their pitiful lives as a knife is plunged into their gullet?"

Pausing to give it some thought the Listener pulls out a flier given to them by their contractor which landed on the floor. Cicero casually picks up the note to find but one word written on it.

"Oh my." Cicero pauses. "Looks like that old dragon will finally be downed."

 **Author s Notes: So school stuff got to me but now that I have a huge assignment out of the way I can continue writing. Short chapter again, but I know where I want to go for the next few so look forward to that. Any comments/ concerns? Thank you again for your time.**


	10. Annex

The battle of Tarbes stretched out ridiculously long. Reconquista had began their march towards the villager town early in the day, however fortune did not smile down on them. As soon as they prepared their attack they were halted by a booming roar that resonated through all that heard it. The undying dragon Durnehviir, soared over head the flying ships with incredible speed. Soaring ever closer to the flying ship, those aboard never realized the Dragonborn jump on.

As most of the crew was unaware of his presence, Torban hid in a long corridor. What would usually have been filled with adept mages was empty. Most if not all had congregated towards the top deck to prepare for their attack. Orders could be heard as to how to deal with Durnehviir, who had already flew away from the upcoming battle. Aside from the commotion everything was dead quiet.

The floor boards creaked with every step taken down the long hallway. Every room appeared to be the same at a first glance and that was enough proof that it was of no importance. Little to no light illuminated the hall due to the dying candles.

Torban ventured deeper into the center of the vessel, passing several of the common workers who gave him no heed. Whether they believed him to be part of Reconquista or a spy they cared little, if they spoke up to those with power then they would be the ones to pay. Eventually he would find himself in front of a grand door which held certain significance. From within could be heard the rambles of a man.

"Those idiots! They just had to go and get themselves killed."

Torban enters the room, his presence is unknown to the man who continues to speak madly to several around him.

"This invasion would have gone much smoother if we had managed to take Albion without any resistance. It'll be much more costly if we're constantly interrupted by those heretics." Turning his back to the others in the room he continues, "How long until we reach that miserable village?"

"It's right over the horizon, sir. Only a few more moments and we'll be right overhead," stated a different voice.

"Good. Perhaps we can find something helpful out of this entire situation."

The room they were all in resembled closely to a personal library, with each shelf filled to the brim with books. A council was taking place as to how to go about the invasion and whether it would yield enough reward for the given effort. A polished tile floor laid before the Dragonborn with ample room between the nobles and him.

Torban lets his presence be known, "Maybe you can, but that all depends how the rest of this plays out. I'll give you one chance to surrender," warned Torban. "I suggest you take it."

Unease spread throughout the nobles. Many backed away, cowering in fear. Word had already begun to spread about the Dragonborn, of the Voice. Everything was still until a rogue blast of fire shot towards Torban. With a slight step to his right, Torban dodges the assault of magic.

"Don't presume you'll leave here alive scum," stated the caster.

"Then your lives are forfeit."

"Your head is already worth quite a bit. I'll be sure to enjoy the reward-"

The unnamed caster was cut off as Torban began his attack on the closest caster, stabbing straight through his chest which allowed him to follow up with a decapitation. The body fell limp on the floor as the head flew to a corner in the room. Much of the blood had sprayed on everyone, causing them to scoff at the sight.

A barrage of fire spells aimed themselves towards and flew with unwavering precision. Torban jumps back in order the avoid the first wave of magic, as he landed another wave of fire crept its way towards him. Not having enough time to react, Torban takes the brunt of the force and is sent flying to the wall. As he begins to get back on his feet a blast of wind forces him back down. With the wind constantly shifting it's almost impossible for Torban to regain his footing. With this advantage the nobles take their opportunity and rain down a storm of magic.

 **"Tiid-Klo-Ul"**

Time slowed down to the point it seemed it had stopped entirely. Torban surveyed the area and noticed that most of the nobles had spread apart and backed away to the edge of the room to create more distance from their target. Bursts of fire and wind had practically stopped as the magic slowly burned away. With none aware of the sudden change of pace, Torban moved out of the way of impact and struck down two of the casters. One solid downward strike tore through the chest of the caster which broke through his rib cage. The following attack had Torban bring the blade completely up as the blade entered below the jaw, while exiting through the top of the head, killing the man instantly.

As Torban retrieved his blade, he lost control of his body. Every muscle began to seize up, causing him to fall onto the floor. He was paralyzed throughout his entire body.

The man from the beginning starts to laugh uncontrollably. "You fool! Did you really think you could come onto my ship, murder my advisors, and walk out of here alive?!" The noble lifts his fist pointed towards Torban, to emphasize the ring he was wearing. "Despite it all you are still a man, and thus subject to the power of my ring. You will no longer have any free will and will hastily be drafted into my army. I, Oliver Cromwell will have your undying loyalty and you will be treated as the filth you and the people of this land are!"

 **"Gol-Hah"**

"There are many that have tried to use me for their own selfish purposes," claimed Torban as he slowly got up. "But in the end nobody could do it for long."

"Wh-What sorcery is this?!" Yelled Cromwell.

Torban raises his gleaming blade and stabs the mad noble straight through the torso. Which made Cromwell cough up blood over himself as he looked up at his killer.

"You'll pay for this…" Whispered the noble with what remaining breath remained.

The remaining advisor seeing that his head commander had been easily taken down attempted to run. With his back turned he had no way of knowing that a sword was thrown and pierced through his back if it weren't for the blade staring right at him.

Torban walks back to the corpse of Oliver Cromwell and extracts the ring from his blood stained hands. "I can see why this thing has made so much commotion," commenting to himself. As he puts away the ring, he begins to look around the study for any relevant information until the air pressure suddenly dropped.

A high pitched shriek filled the air as all was revealed due to a blast of light that burned away all shadows. A powerful magic had been unleashed on Reconquista, one that would destroy the invading army. In a blink of an eye, the fire that rained down on the village of Tarbes vanished before any could realize. The sky was cleared to reveal an unblemished bright blue. Nothing remained, not weapon or life.

The few foot soldiers that remained began to run away as the Tristain army forced them back. Any who kept on the fight were quickly silenced by those seeking glory for their family name. That isn't to say that Tristain hadn't suffered any casualties, quite the opposite in fact. Only a handful dozen remained, with both a mix of competent and novice magicians that littered the battlefield.

A cry of victory emerged from Tristain as they declared that battles theirs. Many fell back in exhaustion as they realized that they would be allowed to live another day. The one in most shock happened to be the young Valliere, Louise Françoise. It was through her desperation that she unlocked the hidden element; void. What should have been a joyous occasion was short lived as the disastrous spell left her weakened and feeling sickly.

Suddenly an explosion occurred far off in the field, letting a cloud of dust to shoot upwards. From the deepened crater emerged a ghostly image of none other than the Dragonborn. Those around were confused as to what was happening, none could have predicted what happened next.

"It's one of the heretics!" Yelled one of the mages. "Kill him!"

Several began casting spells at their target in an attempt to finish him off once and for all. Any magic whether it be fire, water, earth, air, or a combination of all four passed through the specter.

 **"Fus-"**

More and more blasts of magic hurled their way towards Torban as he casually walked closer to the remaining army.

 **"Ro-"**

Desperation ran through the magicians as several sensed the impending danger and began to flee as the corporeal body of the Dragornborn returned.

 **"Dah"**

An invisible force blasted towards the mages that remained. None reacted in time to the blast and were sent flying flying several feet into the sky. Those who tried to resist were destroyed as their body crushed within itself. Fewer that ten remained.

Those that hadn't continued to run, after recovering, stood there in shock. Both man and woman could only stand as their death, which took the form of a warrior, gradually stepped towards them only to quickly end their lives.

After finishing the remaining soldiers, Torban looked around at what remained of the battlefield and witnessed an unpleasant sight. Towards the forest covering stood Princess Henrietta, who had dragged Louise after she had cast her newfound power. The two stared at each other with clear disgust. This broke off as Henrietta began to make her way towards the man that slaughtered her people.

"If it isn't the princess," said Torban with disdain.

"What is it you're hoping to accomplish here!" demanded Henrietta.

"A change in power."

"So you wish to take over all of Tristain? Do you realize how mad that is, you'll never accomplish your goal."

"You misunderstand. I don't intended to rule this land, I simply want to release those already in power. The people of this land deserve to rule themselves."

"There isn't a single noble that would agree with that, you'll be stopped before long."

"That's the exact mindsets the Aldmeri Dominion had. They believed themselves superior to others, they sought to turn man, met, and beast against each other."

"Perhaps they knew what was best for the rest."

"You idiot! They used us for their own motives, they made us participate in their horrible wars meant to weaken and divide us. We had no choice in the matter, we fought their ridiculous war in order to survive."

"While I can't agree with their methods, you appear to be worse."

"You allow your people to suffer at the hands of those who believe themselves superior and abuse their power. Your land has butchered the meaning of 'noble'.

"Brimr chose us to nurture the people of this land, our guidance will see them through."

"You hide behind the words of your God and refuse to accept the reality of things. I've dealt with gods and I will not allow them to mold me into their pawn."

"At least our actions have driven us to murder."

Torban gives out a final sigh before pointing his blade towards her, "Is this how you're prepared to die?"

Louise had regained consciousness in time to hear Torban's question ring in her ears. Forcing herself upwards she quickly stumbles her way towards Henrietta with a sudden burst of energy and blocks the path between her and Torban.

"If you intend to get to through to the princess them you'll have to go through me first," warned Louise as she held her hands up in defense of Henrietta.

"You're that child from before," sneered Torban. "You have no right on this battlefield."

"As a citizen of Tristian, I cannot allow your actions to go unnoticed!"

"Go back home to your mother, this is no place for you."

"A deranged person as you wouldn't understand the severity of your actions. What hope do you stand against someone who destroyed the entire fleet." Louise attempted a bluff, one that would determine whether she would live or die.

"You destroyed those flying ships? I must say that's quite a feat, but that changes nothing. You still support a dying kingdom."

"You're afraid of my power aren't you? You would've done something by now if you weren't." She hoped, she hoped with her entire being that her gamble would prove true, It took every ounce of will left in her to not crack under pressure.

Torban pauses. "Afraid of your lack of power?

Louise froze. Her mind went blank as her only way out of this situation shattered. "W-W-What are you talking about… P-Perhaps you need to witness my true strength again…"

"Don't play games with me girl. Your cocky attitude gave you away. If you truly had any means of killing me as the supposed "mutt" I am then you would have taken it the first chance you had."

"I-"

"Step out of the way, I have no quarrel with you."

"N-No!"

Henrietta stepped up, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder she said, "It's alright Louise." Tears began to swell up in the princess' eyes. "There's no point in the two of us dying."

The young Valliere stood speechless as she aged at her beloved friend, not knowing how to react.

"Will my death be enough to satisfy your pointless killing spree?"

"I said I would release all who were in power, that doesn't end with you."

Those words broke through all of Henrietta's reasoning. He intended to break all of Halkegnia's seats of power. She stared blankly at the man that promised to do just that. Hours seemed to pass until she realized that she had fallen on her knees in disbelief.

A sword rose towards the sky, it's bent blade reflected the sun's rays violently. Timed seemed to slow down as the blade ever so slowly inched its way towards Henrietta's body. Every passing moment was an eternity as the blade began to blur due to its speed. She wandered if her death would have any meaning now, if it was the right choice to make. None of it mattered anymore as her vision became obstructed.

Louise jumped of Henrietta just as the sword fell. The sound of cloth and skin being ripped was prominently heard. As the blade finished its motion, blood was revealed to be dripping from its tip. The princess could only look on in horror as her childhood friend fell onto the war ridden ground.

Henrietta reached out towards Louise out of fear of the worst. Her emotions were uncontrollable, she didn't know what to think of the situation. Everything found a way to get drastically worse. As a shadow loomed over her, she knew what was to come and could only find it in herself to embrace her friend.

A moment passed, then another, until….

 **"Mul-Qah-Diiv"**

Torban took a defensive stance and backed away from Henrietta as a dagger aimed at him pierced the air and cracked part of the ethereal dragonic armor that enveloped him. This wasn't an ordinary attack, there was too much precision.

Moments passed until a single arrow flew from the opposite direction and struck with the fury of thunder, the strength of the shot was enough to break off one of the ethereal horns off his armor. Silence returned.

"Your tactics haven't changed at all," accused Torban, "Listener."

Several arrows began to fire deep from the forest. As they approached, Torban laid out several strikes in order to destroy them. Silence returned until a shadowy figure emerged from the woods, a hooded man, garbed in shadow with outlines of blood red encompassing his armor and ran towards its target. Equipped with two deadric crafted daggers, the assassin attacked with unbelievable speed and managed to force Torban back.

Deciding to take further action, Torban counter attacks and begins an onslaught of strikes all of which are deflected away. Sparks begin to fly as both the Akaviri and deadric styled swords fell together.

With the sudden commotion, Henrietta took her chance and began to drag away Louise from the battle. With everything that had occurred she could look forward, too afraid to look back.

 **Several hours later…**

After what remained of the defending Tristain army returned back home most couldn't believe what had occurred. The princess was forced to return to her regular duties but wasn't able to, due to her injured friend. By the time they could find anybody with enough skill to heal Louise, who had suffered enough damage to the point of being close to the brink of death. Most of the damage she suffered ran through her left arm since it had taken most of the force. A temporary solution had her arm being set in a sling. However for one reason or another the tissue around the wound had burned, causing most of the surrounding nerves to be destroyed. No matter the reason, there was still work to be done.

As things began to settle down another surprise awaited the people of Tristain outside the castle gates. A man wearing the standard Dark Brotherhood armor of old, stood a ways off from the entrance as he simply waited. Several of the guards had begun to approach the assassin. None took action out of fear of the day's previous events.

Soon behind came Henrietta, who was accompanied by her injured friend. The two recognized the stranger but neither knew how to react. While their encounter would be short, it would help determine the direction of the people of Tristain.

"Who are you?" Asked Henrietta curiously.

"I am a follower of the Void," claimed the masked stranger with a dull empty voice.

"What could a commoner know of the void? This is preposterous," stated the young Valliere. "We shouldn't make the same mistake as before my princess, he must be plotting something, he has to be stopped before anything can escalate further!"

"I understand the gravity of the situation but we still mustn't act too rash," commented Henrietta.

"Too rash?" Whispered Louise in shock. "Those people murdered everyone they could back at the academy" Yelling to prover her point, "You can't expect for things to turn out differently with such a barbaric people!"

"I will not allow for such acts to happen again, but if what he claims is to be true then he might be what we need."

 **Author's Notes: So I'm very excited about what this chapter is going to lead into and how it all will eventually play out. I figured that since I've been leaving you guys with very short chapters lately, that I'd try to make it just a bit longer. But for now I think it's about time that I answer some questions and clear up somethings, so let's get to it.**

 **-Don't expect the characters to be "leveled." What I mean by this is that not everyone can do everything that's on the skill tree.**

 **-Magic can't be used by everyone, so don't expect those like Ulrik and Torban to cast restoration magic on themselves, any damage they've sustained will remain throughout a fight.**

 **-Enchanted weapons/ armor will have a role and have significance to the story as it progresses, however they won't work like "+50 health".**

 **-I've made each of the Skyrim characters to embody part of the perk tree (warrior, mage, thief), so while they excel at their own profession they won't be absolutely overpowered to the point that they're god tier.**

 **-Oh and when I mean "standard Dark Brotherhood armor of old" I mean the armor from ESO**


	11. Intertwine

The sun had reached its highest peak and shined down rays of warming light on top of the tree top of the forest. Underneath was Ulrik, the Harbinger, wandering aimlessly. With a full set of ebony armor, the warrior dragged himself along. After the attack on the Academy of Magic, he began to venture across the land in search of a beast to slay.

A running stream could be heard in the distance as well as several woodland creatures. The terrain was wild, it was clear that this section of the forest hadn't been explored before, however that theory was quickly dismissed as he saw a column of smoke raise towards the sky a ways away.

With a running start, Ulrik sprinted towards the stack of smoke at his highest speed. Any creature that stood in his way quickly ran off in fear of begin trampled. Within a minute the source of the smoke was in sight. A fire burned ablaze with several men standing around it waiting.

"Hey!" yelled one of the men, which caught the attention of the rest. "Who are you supposed to be?"

Many who surrounded the fire prepared themselves for a confrontation. The atmosphere turned stale the longer Ulrik kept silence which agitated the others.

"Somebody out on a hunt," replied Ulrik with caution.

"You wouldn't happen to be going for the bounty by yourself are you?"

"Bounty?"

"There's a monster in these woods and it just so happens that there'll be coin involved if we manage to retrieve its head. They say it's something straight out of a nightmare. Hey, if you're willing you can join us and we ll cut you in on part of the pay."

Ulrik pondered the possibility. In truth he wasn't at all interested in the pay. There was no need for such materialistic things. What peaked his interest was the promise of the hunt. From what little he heard he came to the conclusion that it would be a matter worth investigating. So in the end he accepted their proposal.

The group of mercenaries still had a ways to go before they came across where the sightings of the creature had taken place. This allowed some downtime for the men as they trudged along the forest. Many had taken to themselves and walked in peace while others had started conversations with one another. With some unanswered questions the leader of the group walked up to Torban and began a discussion with him.

"What is it you're hunting?" asked Ulrik puzzled.

"Let's just say that it s a monster that you don't want to come across alone."

"That's nothing to go on."

"Trust me. There's no other way to describe it."

As the group continued on their way they soon arrived at their destination. A cottage came into view, it was small, and quaint. An oddity that displaced itself from the rest of nature while at the same seeming as though it belonged there. The opaque windows didn't allow anyone to see inside, especially from their distance. From inside a shadow crossed the window, which provoked several of the mercenaries.

Ulrik was confused as to what it was these men were hunting down. They claimed it to be a monster, but that didn't appear to be the case.

The door began to slowly open, to which the men prepared themselves. When the door fully extended itself it revealed a young, blonde woman with fair skin. Carrying with her an empty basket which she loosely held. What distinguished her the most were her pointed ears.

She was an elf, but not any that Ulrik recognized. Upon this realization the leader beside him yelled the order to attack. Without wasting a moment the anxious men leapt from their hiding spot and rushed towards the young elf. The hatred, and fear man holds for others not of their own kind is prominent in both worlds.

Being caught by surprise the elf could only scream in terror as she was held down by strangers. Each of her limbs were pinned down to the forest floor by two or more men. She continued to scream for help which provoked the mercenary leader into grabbing the root of her hair and smashing her head into the ground. Pain began to swell up throughout the back of her skull and body as she was being manhandled into submission.

"Finally got that she she-bitch boys!" yelled the mercenary leader.

Cheer came from the surrounding men over their victory , but not all was done.

Everything came to a halt as the head of the mercenary leader flew into the sky and landed with a heavy thump. Blood began to spray wildly across those within the vicinity, and layered them with confusion. From behind the beheaded body stood Ulrik, who had finished a strike with his bloodied Nordic blade.

Everyone stood in shock at the following scene. As the remaining men began to surround the Harbinger, who begun his transformation, they soon realized their mistake.

Ulrik's forearms, and hind legs began to extend to an unnatural length; much of his body began to grow a wild, gray coat of fur; all the while his armor began to vanish away. In his place stood a werewolf. With his long, sharpened claws he began his attack by pouncing on the first mercenary that approached him. The man was sent flying towards the ground, and with Ulrik overtop him he had no chance to escape. On the first swipe the elongated claws imbedded themselves deep into the man s chest. Several more strikes followed leading to his throat begin torn open, and pieces of flesh flying off.

Before Ulrik could finish ensuring the man's death, a mercenary had sneaked up behind him with a steel axe and slashed him across his back. This prompted Ulrik, to turn around, and grab the mercenary by the throat causing him to be lifted above the ground, and hurled him across the opening to the base of a tree.

A flurry of arrows pierced the side of Ulrik s hide causing him to recoil. This allowed three men to close in, and begin their own attack.

Still stunned by the arrows Ulrik had to endure the incoming onslaught. Slashed across the but by a sword, causing him to bend over. Stabbed through his left arm by a spear which pierced all the way through, limiting any movement. Finally, an axe that slashed across his face, in between the bridge of the maw and the eye.

Infuriated, Ulrik let out a blood curdling roar that made everyone step back in fear. The three men that initially attacked him were paralyzed, and remained so until either their neck was slit, or their skulls were smashed against the ground. The archers began to run away in fear but were quickly pursued and dragged against their will. Claws begin to seep their way into their backs, destroying their spine, rendering them unable to move. They are seething in pain until they too are released from life.

Slowly on all fours Ulrik approaches the young elf, who had propped herself up, with his head held low. He stops a mere foot away from her.

The young elf was stained in blood from head to toe. She didn't waver as the beast approached her. Instead she held her hand up towards her savior s maw, which he nuzzled.

"Thank you", the elf said with the upmost of sincerity as tears of joy began to swell up in her eyes. "My name is Tiffania."

 **Author's Notes: This chapter one out of three side stories. After that I'll be starting to head to the next "arc" if you can call it that. I'm thinking of heading towards the bigger plot points, so I can wrap up this rough draft and begin making the final version. So let me know what you guys think and offer any suggestions you like.**


	12. Course

As the sun rose from the East, its blinding light hit the surface of the remains of the Academy of Magic. The crumbling towers created looming shadows over much of the grounds. A vicious, cold breeze of wind swept through the academy causing an unconscious red-headed to wake with a fright. Kirche held herself up with the back of her arms, only to find herself laying on a fallen stone pillar. She stood up only to stumble and fall onto the floor as she grasped her gut which began to flare up in pain. Only then did she realize that she was bandaged up while still wearing her tattered uniform and covered in dust.

The first thing she sought to do was to find somebody, anybody that could have offered help. She began to head down barefoot a flight of stairs that had been partially blocked by a fallen wall. Ash layered the floor where a battle had taken place. What seemed off were the lack of bodies. The last thing she remembered was the sound of thunder approaching along with the sensation of falling.

Farther down she went until she heard the echo of a creaking door and so she followed. Down a dark corridor she found a light emerging through a slightly opened door which led to the Lecture Hall. Taking a deep breath she violently slammed the door open to find the unexpected.

Inside was destroyed as the rest of the academy. The roof was completely torn open which let the dreaded cold wind escape inside. Much of the upper floors were revealed and appeared to be on the verge of collapsing in on itself. At the very back of the room, sprawled across the corner, was a Nightingale

"Took you long enough to wake up," stated Arelos.

"Who are you?" she asked fearfully, while motioning towards her wand, only to find it missing.

"Don't bother." Arelos held up her wand and threw it at her feet. "To answer your question, I was one of the ones to help take over this place."

"Wait... You were one of the ones that destroyed the academy?! W-Where are the others?"

"It's hard to say, aside from those that ran. I'm sure it'd be impossible to find out at this point either ways."

"Where's Tabitha?!"

Arelos tilts his head to the side in boredom, "I wouldn't know."

"Don't try to change the subject! I am Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst," she raises her wand, aiming it towards Arelos, and begins to conjure flames at the tip of it. "Now tell me! What's happened to my friend," she demanded.

"I would advise against doing that."

The flames begin to flicker, and die away. Kirche begins to feel exhausted. The longer she kept her flames up the worse she began to feel, until suddenly she falls on all fours, gasping for air.

"You'll continue to burn yourself away at this rate."

Kirche looks up bewildered.

"It's surprising how different our worlds are. Tell me, does your world know about vampires?"

The word passed through her ears as she let it settle in. Creatures of the night that feasted on the blood of the innocent. This was what she faced.

"That's only a children s tale," she said solemnly.

Arelos' form dissolved into a swarm of bats that flew towards the entrance, and then materialized behind of the young Germanian.

Kirche looked back in shock. "I-Impossible..." she stammered, as she fell back. "Does that mean..."

Arelos began to head to the back side of the room, and propped himself against the wall. "If what you're worried about is that you're infected then save your breath."

A sigh of relief passed through the lips of the red-head.

"Your affinity is fire, that much is evident. It;s stronger than most, and that intensity of strength is what caused any of the infection to burn away, an extremely rare case but not impossible. However, that doesn't mean that you can go as you please."

"What do you mean?" asked Kirche, as she looked at the Nightingale with confusion.

"What is the one thing a vampire needs to survive?"

A moment of silence passed as Kirche wondered what he could have meant, until she realized the answer. Blood. The one source of sustenance for those of his kind.

"So is that why I m alive?! You kept me just to feed on?"

"That's correct. From here on out you'll be thrall."

Arelos' blunt response threw Kirche off. She stared at him wide eyed in disbelief, and had him figured as crazy to think he could get away with this. For a moment her world shattered. Without realizing it she had risen back up and began, ungracefully, making her way towards him. Ignoring the pain, she began to sprint towards her target.

Kirche's mind drifts away, and she begins to think back to her beloved friend Tabitha. This moment of inattentiveness made her fail to realize a green-haired woman, robed in dark blue with a black hooded cape, blocked her path. As Kirche came back to reality she recognized the woman, she was the Headmaster's assistant; Miss Longueville. However she wasn't the same, her natural hazel colored eyes were replaced by a blood-thirsty red.

Before Kirche could react to the situation, Fouquet sank her fangs into the neck of the young Germanian. This caused Kirche to come to a full stop who's blood was slowly being drained away. She began to go limp as Fouquet held her in place. Her vision became fuzzy, everything began to go black, until she passed out.

With her work done, Fouquet pulled herself away to stand besides Arelos, "Do you really think it will work out with this brat?"

"It doesn't matter if it does," answered Arelos. "They're all vying for power, and that will be their crux."

Fouquet thinks back to her past before remembering, "Another of the dead found its way here with a note."

"Let's see the note." She hands him the note. Arelos begins to read through its contents and ponders on it for a while until coming to a conclusion. "It appears you, and I will be attending a wedding."

"A wedding? What about the girl?" Fouquet gestures to Kirche.

"I have someone in mind to look after her."

 **Author's Notes: I never planned for Kirche to be killed off, whether or not I want her to also succumb to vampirism is still up for debate. If all goes according to plan then there should be four chapters remaining before I close everything up and begin working on the final draft of this story. There are certain things I m choosing not to do right now to save for later, and there s still the matter if you guys want something added in. So that's about it for now comments/ suggestions?**


	13. Outcome: Part I

The twin moons had began to rise over the horizon, illuminating the night sky, against a dark blue background. There was tension throughout the Kingdom of Tristain. Within the next day the cherished princess would be joined in ceremony with the emperor of Germania. This will cause the borders to fall, uniting both states into one.

With the growing instability of Tristain, Henrietta was left with little choice in the matter as she prepared. She had never formally met either the emperor, nor did she have any particular interest in the man either. The entire arrangement was brought about by Tristain 's trusted advisers who found it imperative to unite the two kingdoms immediately with the recent attacks. She hoped that it would lead to the prosperity of her people sooner rather than later.

A knock came to Henrietta s door. "Come in", she replied.

Emerging from the frame appeared a short pinkette with a worried demeanor. Louise walked in, attempting to carry a tray containing a kettle of tea, along with two cups. She set the tray down forcefully on the dresser closest to Henrietta, and unsteadily began to pour the drink. Louise s wound left her arm permanently scarred, she would regain more control over time but not completely. As she served the tea to her friend she asked, "Are you planning on going along with the wedding?"

Henrietta looked away, unsure of how to respond. "I have to choose what s best for my people Louise, you know that."

"You shouldn't have to be made to do this! It's all because of those damn heretics, if it wasn't for them none of this would be happening!" Louise places her opened hand on her chest. "I promise that I'll make each one of them pay for all the suffering they've caused you."

Henrietta's heart is warmed as she is reminded of her beloved friend's loyalty. No matter what the situation she would always find Louise at her side.

"It will only be a matter of time before they have to face the consequences of their actions. Nothing can excuse them for everything they have done."

Henrietta walks over to Louise and embraces her in a hug. As the two took a moment to take in the moment of peace, Henrietta let go and walked towards the windowsill. Much of the night was littered with stars of varying hues of blue and pink. A crescent moon illuminated the sky and a new moon hiding in shadow. With chunks of stars surrounding the crescent, it gave shape to that of a shattered moon.

"Your newfound power of the Void will surely benefit us in our fight against them."

"I will give it everything I have to bring them to justice, my princess. Brimr's gift is exactly what should be used." Louise stands besides Henrietta and looks down at the rest of the kingdom. "What did those heathens say their God was? A lizard?"

"It was supposedly a dragon, and not just one, an entire pantheon."

"Multiple gods? They couldn't just decide on one?"

"It was all a bit too much to believe, but their convinced their in the right."

"Idiotic," spatted out Louise with clear disgust. "Barbaric gods for barbaric people."

"These Divines are clearly a ruse used by them to justify their actions."

While both Louise and Henrietta continue their conversation, the Listener enters the room. Still barged in a standard uniform for the Dark Brotherhood; the Listener waits at the edge of the room and awaits for the princess to address him.

A look of searing hatred grows on the young Valliere s face. Louise blamed anyone that claimed to from their world. She blamed him for everything that happened despite him not being present for any of the past events. Nothing he said would convince her otherwise. Anything that came from the same land as the others would be labeled as a threat.

"What are you doing here? Get out!" Louise yelled at the top of her lungs as the Listener came into view.

The Listener remained silent. Unmoving and undeterred, he awaited to be acknowledged by the princess

"Louise!" Henrietta exclaimed, grabbing onto her friend to prevent her from attacking their newfound guest.

"You're just like the others; blood-thirsty savages! If you all had stayed where you belonged then none of this would be happening!" Tears begin to roll down the young Valliere's face. "It's your fault. I reject everything about you and your people." Louise pauses, "You claim to serve the Void, but there are those who don't even know of Brimr's existence, how can you allow for such blasphemy?!"

The Listener remained silent. His unforgiving eyes never swaying from hers.

With a broken voice, Louise asks in disbelief, "Do you not even care? Our way of life is being threatened and you won't do anything about it"

Her question met with more silence.

Finally understanding her attack on the assassin had failed, Louise begins to unwind from her tantrum. Released from Henrietta's grasp, Louise calmly walks in front of the Listener and promised, "If you ever betray Henrietta then you ll have me to deal with." She begins to leave the room, before exiting she states, "I denounce you and those like you, I blame you for our suffering." With that the young Valliere left.

Henrietta's gaze turned towards the doorway, until she remembered about the other presence in the room. Her face slightly flushing red, the princess turned towards the listener and apologized. Once again he says nothing and instead walks towards the balcony to look towards the horizon.

"They _will_ be arriving tomorrow," warned the Listener.

Henrietta turns towards the assassin with shock written over her face. "Wait... how do you know that?"

"It would be a mistake to continue with tomorrow." The Listener unsheathes the Blade of Woe from it's scabbard, and reminisces. "It's that ring, they're after it."

 **Author's Notes: Heh, it's sure been a while. To make a long story short, I just procrastinated on this for the longest of time. At first I planned on making a huge chapter closing this arc and continuing with the next, but I'll refrain from that for now since I want to get this out sooner than later. I've got ideas for two other stories after I have the first couple chapters of this story s revised version done. Something I've realized early on and many have pointed this out as well is that this story is very dark. Now I would be okay with this if it didn't escalate as quick, so what I will be working on in the revised version is adding more hope, that of which I will take away at the end. Something I should have mentioned before guys is that I only have the anime to go off so if I have continuity errors from the manga please let me know so I can take it into account for the final draft. As I'm about to upload this I remember know that I totally forgot Valenwe's side story! Because of this I'm going to incorporate it into an upcoming chapter since it will play a vital part.**

 **LQ840i: The Listener is pure assassin. Most of the ES characters will have special equipment if they get it at some point in the quest line. For example The Listener with the Blade of Woe, Valenwe with the Staff of Magnus, and Arelos with Auriel's Bow (*cough* hint *cough*). I can't really give you an answer by perks and skills because while yes they could have them depending on their class, they aren't limited or hindered by them.**

 **Uknowndeath 2565: Valenwe and The Listener would have potions yes, but their effects are very watered down. In other words if one of the characters is close to death a healing potion will help but it will not guarantee their survival.**

 **Thank you very much for taking the time to read my attempt at a story and I apologize for the late update. I hope to be back very soon.**


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